Setting Up Obsidian for iOS

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Setting Up Obsidian for iOS

Setting up Obsidian to sync between PC and iOS devices as a GitHub repository

How to set up an Obsidian to sync a vault with a GitHub repository on an iOS device.

I read several guides on this which were ultimate more confusing than they need to be. So, here is my simplified guide. I hope it helps.

1. Create your vault’s repository

  1. Create a new GitHub repository.
  2. Copy the repo URL — use the HTTPS form: https://github.com/<user>/<repo>.git
  3. Create a personal access token (GitHub user global settings > Developer Setting > Personal access tokens > Tokens (classic))
    1. Note: It must be a classic token. It will not work with the newer fine-grained token.
  4. copy the PAT, e.g. ghp_<your_36_digit_PAT>

4. iOS Setup

  1. Install and launch the Obsidian app on iOS. Install must be done first as it initializes the Obsidian directory.
  2. Close the Obsidian app
  3. install iSH via iOS app store
  4. Via iSH app, clone the repository in the Obsidian directory. You must use the http method for connecting to GitHub (not because it’s not possible to set up ssh keys on iOS with iSH, but because the Obsidian git plugin does not support ssh.)
cd ~/Obsidian
git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git

When prompted for credentials, use your user name and the PAT you generated before:

git clone https://github.com/username/repo.git 
	Username: your_username
	Password: your_token

iSH Setup

You will eventually need to use iSH for merge conflicts, etc. Use git’s credential store to avoid having to enter the PAT token on password prompt:

# 1) Tell Git to use the store helper and where to keep the file
git config --global credential.helper "store --file ~/.config/git/credentials"

# 2) (Optional) pre-set your GitHub username to avoid extra prompts
git config --global credential.username YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME

# 3) Create the credentials file with tight perms
mkdir -p ~/.config/git
touch ~/.config/git/credentials
chmod 600 ~/.config/git/credentials

Now do one HTTPS operation (e.g., git fetch or git push) and enter:

- Username: `YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME`
- Password: `<your PAT>`

Git will write a line like this to ~/.config/git/credentials:

`https://YOUR_GITHUB_USERNAME:PAT_HERE@github.com`

2. Desktop Setup

  1. Clone the repository, use whichever authentication method you prefer (e.g. ssh)
  2. Either add the whole .obsidian/ directory to your .gitignore (see below) or at least ignore the content of the Obsidian git plugin if you’re using it. It will mess up your iOS setup.

Notes

  • If you are moving between multiple devices with different operating systems, especially if iOS is involved, I strongly suggest adding the entire .obsidian/ directory to .gitignore. You’ll need to manage your locally Obsidian configurations manually for each device, but that’s not a lot of work. You will otherwise spend a bunch of time managing merge conflicts related to Obsidian files and plugins.
.obsidian/core-plugins.json

GPG + Obsidian Setup (macOS + iOS)

Obsidian (gpgCrypt plugin)

To work with iOS, use OpenPGP.js backend setting in the gpgCrypt plugin settings. Generate keys with plugin, copy keys created in vault (e.g. .keys/pub.asc, .keys/sec.asc) to other devices.

Add keys, or *.asc to .gitignore

On desktop (e.g. macOS), configure GnuPG CLI Wrapper backend settings:

  • Path: /opt/homebrew/bin/gpg
  • Select your imported GPG key.


and, VOILÀ, finally notes markdown notes with gruvbox theme synced across iPhone and my computers 🥹

Obsidian iOS Setup

The original post, an outdated guide

Expand here for a much stranger way of doing this manually This was the initial way I did this and I wrote down the steps. This is much too complicated, and makes no sense. I'm keeping the steps here for prosterity until I have time to fully validate my new guide on a clean installation. ### How to setup Obsidian to sync as GitHub repository including iOS device sync 1. Create repository on GitHub and initialize it with a README.md 2. Clone repo on desktop device using https and ghb private access token (must be classic token), e.g.: `https://ghp_@github.com//.git` 3. Suggest making a test commit & push to remote to ensure it's working, then `git fetch` back to local on PC 3. Launch Obsidian app on desktop, open vault and select the git repository location 4. Enable community plugins, install Obsidian-git, enter author name and author email (use the do-not-reply GitHub email) 5. Do a test `commit-and-sync` in the Obsidian-git panel to validate 6. Install Obsidian on iOS, create a new local vault. Vault name is unimportant, the purpose is to initialize the `On My iPhone/Obsidian/` directory in iOS Files 7. Copy the repository folder from desktop to iOS device to `On My iPhone/Obsidian/` (initialize the Obsidian vault with the same name, e.g. "notes", and use `replace` when copying) 8. Launch iOS Obsidian app 9. Go to Settings > Community Plugins. Enable Community Plugins. Install Obsidian Git 10. Enter GitHub username & Personal Access Token (use the same one from step 2) 11. You should see status messages that your repo is synced 12. Navigate to your README.md, make a test edit and use the git panel (swipe left from right side of screen), make a test `commit-and-push` </details>

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